I guess I'm still not totally done with playing with the season premiere. I just needed there to be a little bit more.
xxxxx
Deeks smiled to himself as he watched Ponch and Jon riding their motorcycles along the highway on the television screen. He'd been very pleased to find an old rerun of Chips while scanning through the channels with the remote control. At least it was something to help with his boredom for a little while. He was hoping to be released from the hospital within the next few days, but his doctor was being cautious with his head injury, insisting that Deeks remain hospitalized with as much quiet and rest as possible.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, he turned his attention to the doorway and was surprised to see Director Vance entering the room. "Hello, Director," he said, unconsciously sitting up in bed a little bit straighter. "It's good to see you."
"Hello, Detective," Vance said. "How are you feeling?"
"A lot better," Deeks said. "Hopefully, they're going to spring me from this place soon."
"Don't be in too much of a rush to get out of here," Vance said. "You went through quite an ordeal. You need to take your time with your recovery. You don't want any setbacks."
Deeks nodded. "You're right about that, I definitely don't."
Vance's gaze traveled over to the other bed in the room where Callen seemed to be deeply asleep. "How's Agent Callen doing?"
"He had kind of a rough night," Deeks said softly. "Bad reaction to some medication." The other man had been awake half the night throwing up, but Deeks didn't think the director needed all the gory details, nor did he think Callen would want Vance knowing them. "They finally gave him something so he could get some rest."
Vance nodded. "I won't wake him then. I basically just wanted to see how the two of you were doing and also to let you know that someone will be coming in to talk to you about what happened.
"You mean interrogate us?" Deeks asked. "I think it's kind of soon for Callen, don't you?"
"No, it's not an interrogation," Vance said with a shake of his head. "There is a psychologist coming in tomorrow to meet with your team as a group and give you the opportunity to talk about what happened. Just an informal discussion." He looked over at Callen again. "Hopefully, Agent Callen will be doing better then. Her name is Rachel Cranston and she's very good at what she does."
Deeks glanced over at Callen as well, knowing that the other man was not going to be thrilled with this bit of news. He was also beginning to wonder if Callen was really still asleep or if he was playing possum. Vance stayed for a short while longer, making small talk with Deeks and then he headed out.
"If you're awake, Callen, he's gone," Deeks said, after Vance had left the room. Callen didn't stir though and Deeks realized that he really was asleep. "Hope you start feeling better soon," he murmured as he turned his attention back to the television.
xxxxx
"Hi, honey," Kensi smiled widely as she entered the room and kissed Deeks. "How are you feeling?" She kept her voice low, seeing that Callen appeared to be asleep.
"I'm good, baby. I expected Sam to be with you." He knew Callen would be disappointed, even if he wouldn't admit it.
"Sam went to get his dressing changed. They're keeping a close watch over his wound. He'll be here soon."
"That's good...so Vance was here a little while ago. He said we need to meet as a team with some shrink?"
Kensi nodded. "He called me. Hopefully, it's nothing too intense. What did Callen say?"
"He doesn't even know yet," Deeks replied. "He's been out like a light the last few hours."
"He doesn't seem to be doing very well," Kensi said, looking worried.
"He just had a bad night, didn't get any sleep."
"Well, for you to know that, you must have not gotten much sleep either."
"I'm okay," Deeks said. "I just felt bad for Callen. He was in a lot of pain and then whatever medicine they gave him made him sick."
"That doesn't sound like fun."
At that moment, Sam came into the room, still leaning heavily on his cane. "Hey guys, how's it going?" His eyes immediately went to his sleeping partner and he lowered his voice. "How are you feeling, Deeks?"
"Not too bad, Sam. How's the leg?"
"Getting better every day." Sam looked at Callen once again, concern in his eyes. "Is he okay?"
"He had a rough night," Deeks said. "Lots of pain and he didn't react well to the medicine they gave him. Finally, they gave him something that worked and helped him sleep, as well."
"Well, that's good at least." Sam couldn't help feeling guilty about how hurt his friend had gotten under his watch. Even though rationally he knew there wasn't anything he could have done to prevent it, he still felt responsible somehow.
"Did you speak with Vance today?" Deeks asked.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, G isn't going to like that." Though honestly, he wasn't really too happy about it either.
"I wonder whose bright idea that was," Deeks said.
"What happened in Mexico was pretty awful," Kensi said thoughtfully. "I don't think it's necessarily a bad idea for us to talk about it, considering all that happened."
"I guess," said Deeks though not looking particularly convinced.
"I'm going to go sit with G," Sam said, deciding to give his two younger teammates a bit of privacy, as much as he could anyhow. He smiled and went over to his partner's bedside, then sat down in the chair next to him. He didn't say anything, but rather just studied his partner's face. Except for looking a bit pale, he really didn't look too bad, but Sam knew appearances could be deceiving and that G had a long period of recovery ahead of him. He'd only been there for about 15 minutes when Callen began to stir. He started coughing then opened his eyes and looked at Sam groggily. "Hey buddy, how you doing?"
"I'm good," Callen said hoarsely. "How are you?"
"I'm fine...can I get you anything?"
"Some water?" Callen asked. Someone had moved Callen's bedside tray table out of his reach. He pressed the button on the remote control and moved up the head of the bed so he could talk to his partner more comfortably.
Sam picked up the water pitcher, but found it was almost empty. "I'm going to get you some more water with some ice. I'll be right back."
Kensi walked over to Callen's bedside after Sam left the room. "Hi, Callen, how are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling pretty good," Callen said.
"Yeah?" Kensi had her doubts, but she knew Callen wasn't about to let on how badly he might be feeling. He certainly hadn't let anyone know the extent of his injuries while in Mexico. "Are you warm enough?" She pulled his blanket up a little higher over his chest then tucked it tighter around him. She was unable to help her natural instinct to fuss over him, knowing what she did about his family history, especially with Hetty being missing once again. After Hetty's initial visits to them, she hadn't returned to see them nor had she contacted them. The team was pretty much all he had at the moment.
"I'm good, Kens," Callen said, a slight smile on his lips. "You don't need to worry about me. Anyhow, you should get back to Deeks. You don't want him to feel neglected."
"That's the last thing he has to worry about," Kensi said, laughing.
"She's right about that, Callen," Deeks said. "She's been spoiling me rotten, not to mention my mom." Deeks' mom had gotten a hotel room in the area and she came by daily to see her son. She had also been giving Callen his share of attention as well.
Callen nodded, a momentary sadness coming over him at Deeks mentioning his mom. He quickly covered up though, not wanting anyone to feel bad for him or pity him. He wasn't a child, after all.
"Hey G, here's some nice fresh ice water for you," Sam said as he returned to the room. He poured the water into a cup and handed it to his partner.
"Thanks, Sam," Callen said, taking a few long sips of the water. "That's good."
"So what would you like for lunch today?" Sam asked, directing his question to Deeks and Kensi as well. "Your wish is my command. I'll go wherever you like."
"Oh I was planning on going out to get lunch," Kensi quickly said. "You really ought to be staying off your leg more than you are, Sam."
"She's right about that," Callen said. "You should be resting."
"I'm getting plenty of rest, G. Don't worry about me," Sam said. There was no way he was going to leave his partner on his own, especially once Deeks was discharged.
"So, Callen, what would you like for lunch?" Kensi asked.
Callen shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Why don't you let Deeks decide?"
Kensi sighed softly and gave Deeks a questioning look.
"I don't really know what's around here," he admitted.
"Why don't I go to Marco's Cafe," Kensi finally decided. It was close to the hospital and they had a wide variety of sandwiches, soups and other comfort type foods. She knew Deeks would like it and was relatively sure Callen would be able to choose something from there. There were also healthy choices available for Sam. She looked up the restaurant on her phone and found a menu which she brought over to Callen. Once everyone had given her their lunch orders, she headed off after assuring Sam that it was unnecessary for him to accompany her.
"You want to watch some t.v., G?" Sam asked. He could see that his partner was struggling to keep his eyes open and figured the t.v. might help him fall back to sleep. His assumption was correct as Callen's eyes closed only a few minutes after Sam turned on the television. Sam then went over to Deeks and sat in the chair which had been vacated by Kensi.
"So, I noticed you didn't tell Callen about the shrink coming in," Deeks said.
"I don't see that there's much point," Sam stated. "Why get him revved up?"
"You don't think a heads up would be good?" Deeks asked, looking a little bit puzzled.
Sam shook his head. "I don't know...he's not going to be happy about it anyway. It might be better just to have her come in and then it will be over with."
"Okay...I guess you know best," Deeks said. Personally, he would have told Callen, but if Sam didn't think he needed to know, he'd go along with it. "Did Vance even give you a time? He didn't say anything to me."
"Two o'clock," Sam stated. "He must have assumed the two of you wouldn't be going anywhere."
"I guess he was right about that. So any more news on Hetty?"
"No, nothing. I really wish she'd give us a call. I would have thought she'd at least call G…"
Deeks nodded. "Yeah...I would have thought so too. I hope everything is okay with her."
"I'm sure it is." Sam didn't want his thoughts to go there. They already had enough to worry about. Worrying about Hetty on top of everything else wouldn't be conducive to anyone's recovery.
They chatted about minor, inconsequential things, both determined to keep the conversation light, until Kensi returned a short while later with lunch.
"I've got to say, you're certainly the prettiest delivery girl I've ever seen," Deeks said with a grin as Kensi put the bags down on his tray table then smiled back at him.
"Callen's asleep again?" Kensi asked. "Should we wake him?"
Sam nodded. "I'm going to try. He really should eat." He took the soup and sandwich Callen had requested over to his partner's tray table and gently shook his shoulder. "Hey G? Lunch is here. You feel like eating?"
Callen opened his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I'll eat, Sam. Thanks for getting this, Kens."
"You're welcome," Kensi smiled over at him, glad to see he was going to eat.
The rest of the day passed pleasantly enough with Sam and Kensi deciding to leave after the team had eaten dinner. Kensi had gotten pizza which they enjoyed, choosing to ignore a disapproving look from the night nurse.
Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow," Kensi said as she leaned down to kiss Deeks. "We'll be back here well before the psychologist arrives."
Her remark immediately caught Callen's attention. "Psychologist?" he asked. "What psychologist?"
Deeks sighed and looked over at Sam. Both men knew the cat was out of the bag. "Vance is having a psychologist come in and talk with us tomorrow afternoon," Sam explained.
"Why didn't anyone tell me?" Callen asked, his annoyance obvious.
"I didn't want to upset you," Sam replied.
Callen rolled his eyes. "What did you think I was going to do, cry?" However, he then had a sudden unwelcome thought. "It's not Nate, is it?" He had yet to totally forgive Nate for the waterboarding incident and the way he had carelessly divulged Callen's personal information. He definitely didn't trust him.
Sam shook his head. "No, no G, it's not Nate."
"Well, it's fine. I'm really not that fragile, Sam," Callen stated. "I'm not going to melt down over some psychologist coming here."
"I'm sorry, G..I know you're not fragile. You're right. I should have told you."
"It's okay. I get it, but you really don't need to protect me."
"I know...force of habit. Forgive me?"
Callen smirked. "Yeah, I forgive you. Now get out of here. Go back to the hotel and get some rest." Like Deeks' mom, Kensi and Sam had both gotten rooms at a nearby hotel in order to be close to the hospital until Callen and Deeks were released.
"Okay, you two take it easy. Have a good night." Sam waited patiently as Kensi gave her fiance one more kiss. Then the two of them headed out for the night.
